Résumé Writing
Nursing
Santa Barbara City College
Career Center
What is a Résumé?
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A marketing tool – you are marketing yourself
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A brief overview of education and relevant
activities to demonstrate skills and
accomplishments
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A document tailored to each position
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The first (and maybe the only) impression
Résumé Writing Guidelines
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YOU MUST TELL THE TRUTH!!
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Résumés are subjective– few true rules
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What you include, and HOW you include it, has an impact
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Prioritize the information in order of interest
to your reader– top left is highest emphasis
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Save a résumé that has all your info that you
can tailor thereafter for specific employment
Linking Yourself to the Position
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Match YOUR skills & qualifications to
THEIR requirements and keywords
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Critique your résumé as if YOU were
the employer– what would YOU want
to see?
This is the single most important
aspect of résumé writing!
Parts of a Résumé: Objective
Objective: Type 1 (for specific position)
Registered Nurse at Cottage Hospital
 To secure position as a medical administration
nurse for Valle Verde ...
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Parts of a Résumé: Objective
Objective: Type 2 (for skills you bring)
To secure a position utilizing my strong judgment
and decision making skills to make a significant
contribution in medical, surgical, and patient care
activities
 To contribute to a health care center that can use
a dedicated and hard working medical
professional with exceptional communication and
organizational skills
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Parts of a Résumé: Objective
Objective: Type 3 (combination of 1 and 2)
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To contribute to Cottage Hospital as a skilled and
fresh Registered Nursing professional with proven
management and leadership skills
Parts of a Résumé:
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Qualifications
Highlight your own personal strengths & the job
requirements (adept at all aspects of basic
patient care, medical charting, compassionate,
bilingual, excellent organizational skills...)
Compare with job description
Relate to the objective (“extra” value that is
related to position or shows some growth OK;
e.g. supervisorial experience)
Be specific when listing skills
Parts of a Résumé:
Education
Many students underestimate how important
their education is on their résumé
 Think in terms of skills and experience...
Describe rotations/internships like
professional experience
 Include degree, certifications, license
 Related coursework is optional (4-6 courses)
 GPA only if exemplary (honors, top student)
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Parts of a Résumé: Education
Associate Degree in Nursing, Santa Barbara
City College, Santa Barbara, CA, June 2013
 Honors: 3.6 GPA, Dean’s List (2 terms)
 Clinical Rotations: ...
 Special Projects: ....
Parts of a Résumé:
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Experience
First determine your best format: how the résumé
should be organized
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Chronological: By time
Functional: By skill set
Parts of a Résumé:
Experience
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Be consistent with how you choose to organize
and describe your experience.
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Include:
Title, Organization, City, State, Dates
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If your job title is not descriptive, consider
replacing it with a functional title
Chronological
ADVANTAGES
 Most common & traditional style
 Employers find it easy to understand
 Generally easier to write
 Emphasizes career laddering
DISADVANTAGES
 Most recent experience may not be your most
important
 Little or no work experience or seemingly
unimpressive
Chronological Example
Nursing Intern, Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara,
CA, 8/12 – 8/12
 Responsible for tasks on the Medical/Surgical,
Geriatric, Maternity and Cardiac units. Took vital
signs, applied sterile dressings, and handled tube
feedings. Learned tracheotomy suctioning
techniques. Worked on different floors as needed
Certified Nursing Assistant, Assisted Health Care,
Santa Barbara, CA, 8/09-8/10
 Provided patient care, administered medications,
assisted with activities of daily living including
body mechanics, nutrition and safety.
Functional
ADVANTAGES
 Useful to emphasize abilities not used in recent
work experience
 Useful when changing careers or entering the job
market for the first time
DISADVANTAGES
 May be more difficult to write
 May be confusing to employer or create
scepticism due to lack of content
Functional Example
Maternal and Newborn Nursing
 Cared for critically ill and healthy newborns.
 Proficient in relaxation techniques during labor.
 Became a breast-feeding specialist.
Medical/Surgical Nursing Clinical Rotation
 Took vital signs; changed dressings.
 Learned tracheotomy suctioning techniques.
 Applied sterile dressings; handled tube feedings.
Work History
 Nursing Intern, Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, CA,
8/10 – 8/11
 Certified Nursing Assistant, Assisted Health Care, Santa
Barbara, CA, 8/09-8/10
Tips for Describing Experiences
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Focus on accomplishments, not routine duties
Use ACTION verbs – administered, distributed,
coordinated...
Use numbers (numerals) whenever you can:
inoculated more than 200 patients daily; in
charge of crew of 4
Use a superlative whenever you can: first, best,
fastest, largest
Write long on your first draft– you can edit later
Show resume to friends. Bring to Career Center!
Parts of a Résumé:
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Campus/Community Involvement or
Volunteer Work
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Other Sections
This is one example...think of some of your
own
References
No need to include; they are assumed. Use
the space to expand on your qualifications
 Create a reference sheet to hand them when
they do ask, but not before
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Résumé Formatting
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Length: ONE PAGE? Two only if needed…
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Font and margin considerations
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Use underlines, bold type, and italics to
highlight important information
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Your résumé should be NEAT,
PROFESSIONAL and EASY TO READ
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Absolutely NO typographical errors!
Résumé Formatting
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Use phrases, not sentences
No personal pronouns (I, me)
Be clear and concise with descriptions
Avoid excessive adjectives
Keep it crisp
Résumé Top Tips
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Match keywords to job listing
Think like a marketing pro – bullets, clean, easy
to read, and keep design elements minimal.
Don’t misspell things – use spell check AND
proofread.
Be consistent - use past action verbs (present
tense only for things you are doing right now.)
Be specific – use numbers & accomplishments
TELL THE TRUTH